Sean McDermott provided his typical vague update regarding injured Bills defenders on Monday afternoon
Today, as he met with members of the media, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was asked specifically about continuing to keep cornerback Tre’Davious White off the field on game days.
“I’m not going to get into physical versus mental,” McDermott said when asked what was keeping the former Pro Bowl cornerback from being on a game day roster. “He’s just not in a position where he’s ready.”
Buffalo’s banged-up secondary struggled to keep pace with the Minnesota Vikings’ passing game on Sunday, giving up 357 yards through the air, with 197 of those going to quarterback Kirk Cousins’ favorite target, receiver Justin Jefferson. It was widely speculated as to whether having White available would have made a difference.
White suffered an ACL tear on Thanksgiving Day last year, and, while it had seemed that he was possibly on track for an early return when he appeared on the sidelines during Bills training camp this summer, he ultimately started the season on the PUP list. He returned to practice after Week 4, and the Bills opened a three-week window in which they would need to add him to their 53-man roster or designate him to the season ending IR list.
On November 1, as his three-week window came to a close, the Bills chose to add White to their 53-man roster, but the cornerback has continued to remain inactive on game days. McDermott is making no commitments regarding when we might see White active, continuing to say that they are taking it “one day at a time.”
In addition to not having White on Sunday, the Bills were sorely missing safety Jordan Poyer, who missed his second game in a row with an elbow injury. The All-Pro safety first injured the elbow in August, causing him to miss all of the team’s preseason games. While he had played in a hinged elbow brace during his game appearances over the first six weeks, Poyer was seen without the brace when the Bills returned from their Week 7 bye.
The decision may have cost the safety, who has been trying to negotiate a contract extension this season. Poyer re-injured his elbow on a tackle late in the Bills’ 27-17 Week 8 win over the Green Bay Packers, later saying that he “heard a pop”—but that it felt different than when he hyperextended it this summer.
Poyer has been a non-participant in practices since the Week 8 injury, and has been ruled out of both of the Bills’ last two games.
Of course, McDermott continues to say that Poyer is day-to-day and is improving. Also on that “improving as expected” list that McDermott keeps reading from day after day are cornerback Kaiir Elam and defensive end Greg Rousseau, both of whom suffered ankle injuries in the Bills’ Week 9 loss to the division rival New York Jets.
McDermott changed up his language when discussing wide receiver Jake Kumerow, who left yesterday’s game with an ankle injury—something that cost him three games earlier this season—and said that the wide receiver is “week to week.”
As for the other concerning injury coming out of the loss to the Vikings that caused the Bills to drop from first place in the AFC down to sixth, McDermott said that linebacker Tremaine Edmunds “tweaked his groin.” The defensive captain spent the week on the injury list with both a heel injury (that he dealt with during Week 9, as well) and a groin injury, and then had to leave the game late in the second quarter.
“We’ll see where he is as the week goes on,” McDermott said about Edmunds and whether he would be available on Sunday when the Bills try to get back in the win column as they host the 3-6 Cleveland Browns.
Poyer, Rousseau, Elam all “improving.”
Kumerow week to week (ankle)
Edmunds tweaked his groin. McDermott says they’ll see where he is as the week goes on.— Sal Capaccio (@SalSports) November 14, 2022
McDermott will meet with members of the media again on Wednesday, but don’t hold your breath waiting for an update that’s any different than the one we received today.